Geboortedatum: 1947-03-14
Geslacht: male
Nationaliteit: USA
Woonplaatsen: Elyria, Ohio, USA
Opleiding: Kent State University (BFA)
Beroepen: cartoonist
Prijzen en onderscheidingen: Pulitzer Prize finalist (Editorial Cartooning, 2008)
Korte biografie: [from cartoonist's website]
After graduating from Kent State University in 1969 with a BFA and a certificate in education, Tom Batiuk taught junior high arts and crafts in Elyria, Ohio. While he was teaching, he began drawing a panel called Rapping Around for the Teen Page of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram in 1970 which led, in 1972, to the creation of Funky Winkerbean.

In 1979, he launched into syndication John Darling, showcasing the misadventures of a fictional talk-show host, with artist Tom Armstrong; followed in 1987 by his third comic strip, Crankshaft, with artist Chuck Ayers, and now currently with Dan Davis.

He received the Ohio Governor's Award in 1996, and received an Inkpot Award from Comic-Con International in 1999. His book collections The Complete Funky Winkerbean Vol. 4 and Roses in December were both Eisner Nominees at San Diego Comic-Con International in 2016.

In October of 2007, The Kent State University Press published Lisa's Story: The Other Shoe which compiled the entire Lisa's cancer story arc. In 2008, Lisa's Story was a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

March of 2022 marked Funky's 50th anniversary.

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Roses in December: A Story of Love and Alzheimer’s door Tom Batiuk

I've never followed the Crankshaft comic strip because the few times I did try it I found the grumpy old man at its center, Ed Crankshaft, to be more annoying than humorous. Fortunately, he's more of a supporting character in this collection that focuses on the two elderly sisters who live next to him and a married couple he has known for years. One person in each of the two pairs is suffering from Alzheimer's.

Lillian and Lucy McKenzie get the most screen time, and their story begins with Lucy's usual absentmindedness becoming more frequent and extreme. Lucy bonds with Crankshaft's granddaughter, Mindy Murdoch, and spends much of their time together telling about a lost love from the 1930s. Those flashbacks become more frequent as Lucy starts getting lost in the past, and hidden details and secrets are revealed. Meanwhile, in the present day, Lillian becomes more and more distraught as the weight of caregiving for a sister who frequently wanders away from home becomes increasingly overwhelming.

A parallel, secondary story has Ralph Meckler reminiscing with Crankshaft's grandson, Max, an aspiring musician, about how he met his wife Helen in New York City when he was starting his own career as a musician. Helen has been in assisted living for a long while, but Ralph is able to give her one last hurrah that celebrates the beginning of their love.

Both stories have a sweet melancholy, serving up romance leavened by the toll of dementia à la The Notebook.

The storytelling is a bit awkward due to the comic strip origins with every third panel needing to be a punchline and Crankshaft having to show up regularly and drop some of his signature malapropisms since he's the title character. Also, these strips were not consecutive in the comic strip's run, so the story skips around a bit randomly at times and the kid characters become teens without warning, but it still manages to stick together pretty well despite the necessary cobbling. If readers are unaware that Crankshaft is part of the Funky Winkerbean universe, they might be a little confused or lost when he and the gang from Montoni's Pizza gets involved in a minor little subplot.

I'm certainly not going to become a Crankshaft regular, but this does remind me that I should get back to reading the Complete Funky Winkerbean books that came out a while back.… (meer)

Gemarkeerd

villemezbrown | Jul 30, 2022 |

The Complete Funky Winkerbean, Volume 4, 1981-1983 door Tom Batiuk

This long-lived and multi-phased comic strip originally set in high school is by now beginning to show some signs of Batiuk's interest in continuing stories, heavier topics and real lives for his characters. Crazy Harry battles new video-game prodigy, the masked "Eliminator", who in later years would be revealed to be female and would become Crazy Harry's wife. The school mascot, the Scapegoat, is introduced. In more serious plotlines, Ann loses her teaching job to budget cuts and is forced to take a McDonald's job, and Fred Fairgood asks her to marry him. Most of the strips still retain their various flaws (sophomoric humor, contrived puns, boring jokes, one-dimensional characters), but there are signs of the developments that would later make "Funky Winkerbean" one of my must-read-daily comic strips.… (meer)

Gemarkeerd

burnit99 | Jul 4, 2016 |

The Complete Funky Winkerbean: Volume 3, 1978-1980… door Tom Batiuk

"Funky Winkerbean" has undergone more metamorphoses than most comic strips. This collection is still in the first, mainly mediocre phase that I remember from my high school days and later. Most of the strips are still contrived, unfunny and forced. If the strip had stayed in this iteration, I would not have had any interest in these book compilations, which probably wouldn't have happened anyway. Fortunately, Batiuk later extended his horizons, delving into continued storylines and serious topics during the first phase, and then jumping his characters forward in time to young adulthood and middle-age. Here, Batiuk is mainly expanding his cast of characters, introducing the feisty black cheerleader Junebug Jones, talk show host John Darling (who would later be murdered), and a wide range of minor players. He also begins giving his characters real lives, beginning a strike-line inspired romance between teachers Ann and Fred. There are signs of improvement, but so far this is still a frequently tedious strip.… (meer)

Gemarkeerd

burnit99 | Jul 4, 2016 |

Strike Four! : the Crankshaft Baseball Book door Tom Batiuk

I only have one regret reading this collection. I should have saved it when baseball season was over with.

Putting that aside, this book is amazing. I knew that Ed Crankshaft was always mean but never knew why. This book fills in a large chunk of the gaps.

Baseball seems so beautiful on the field, but when you pull the veil and see what goes on behind the scenes, it can be joyous and heartbreaking. Yet baseball is the one thing that heals the balm of the days of daily life.

Jamie Farr wrote a excellent into to this book. This book is just wonderful. It would be easy to recommend for those who are fans of baseball in the Ohio area. I want to implore those out of Ohio to read this book, after baseball season ends. It will give your love for the game even deeper meaning.… (meer)

Gemarkeerd

seki | Sep 10, 2015 |

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